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Re: Complex music v. ? on ? and ?

Seems like a plausible explanation. If so, then it would seem that using a higher impedance load for the OP tube(s) would help lower IMD and the amp's ability to cope with complex signals. Perhaps maximising the cancellation I've observed also helps. I can tell you that my parallel SE 845s are designed this way, (not that I knew the extent of the benefits at the time) and they handle complex music very well.

This also raises some other questions. For instance how much does NFB affect IMD? You made the comment that PP does a better job of handling complex music. Part of it would indeed be attributed to even order cancellation but it's also common for PP amps to utilise some degree of NFB. PP amps also generally have greater power than SETs. Could it be that SETs tend to get overdriven a lot more? Complex music tends to be loud more often than not so this could be a contributory factor.

Your point about high powered SETs is also very salient. Obviously, if one amp can produce say 10W at 3% THD and another at 100W at 3% before clipping, then the latter should have a much easier time at say 5W. This in part the headroom I was referring to.

Incidentally, so far all of the commercial amps I have heard using inherently non-linear tubes such as the 833 or the 6C33 have been very disappointing to my ears. Again, these amps must use NFB to correct for their non-linearity ... how much is this hurting realism?

Naz

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